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Why I Love Unsubscribes
Last Updated July 10th, 2014

“How do I prevent people from unsubscribing from my email list?”

And my response is: WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO?

I LOVE when people unsubscribe.

Why?

What Should I Do When People Unsubscribe? Do This…

The other day someone unsubscribed from Social Triggers, and they left me a GREAT message.

A message – when read carefully, with respect, diligence, and rapt attention – that reveals why I love unsubscribes…

…and more important, why you should love them too. I talk about this in my new video:

I know this is counter-intuitive. I know this because people email me regularly asking, “Derek, how can I stop people from unsubscribing from my site?”

And it’s a valid question.

But as you’ll soon see, after you watch this new video, you’ll love when people unsubscribe from your site.

Then, when you’re done with the video, I have a fun experiment. Leave a comment sharing the FUNNIEST reason why someone unsubscribed from your mailing list. I’m sure you’ve seen some great stuff.

Spread the love!

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126 comments Leave a comment
Moni

I unsubscribed from your email list because I wanted to simplify my inbox but I still watch your videos and read your articles, which I find on Facebook. Some people who unsubscribe remain followers!

Aaron

Deric,

If I hadent enjoyed previous postings of yours so much this one would have persuaded me to unsubscribe. The point is valid but there was no thought provoking content here.

Nina

I absolutely needed to hear this! I just started sending weekly emails to my relatively new list. To my shock, dismay and regret (I’m being only slightly facetious) three people unsubscribed from my list. My initial reaction was, WHAT??? Blow to the ego!

But what you said makes absolute sense. It’s analogous to a free group I run for disordered eating. Some people love the group, some not so much (I help people discover “why” they use food, instead of focusing on the behavior itself) and once someone said, enraged, “How DARE you tell me this has something to do with thoughts or emotions? I am a food ADDICT.”

Oh-kay… She wasn’t right for the group, and not everyone is right for the list.

I feel a lot better. Thank you.

Jon Wedel

I said the word “poopy” once and somebody absolutely LOST it…

Best unsubscribe ever.

How to Deal With a Breakup Fast

Hey Derek I really enjoyed this video.

I run a blog and website on how to deal with breakups as well as improve relationships. I also offer a free e-course for those that sign up.

Just recently I had someone sign up on my email list and then immediately unsubscribe (like 45 minutes later). This person’s reason for unsubscribing was “suppose to be free”.

After looking at my AWeber stats, I noticed that this person got their 1st lesson of the ecourse and then clicked on one of my affiliate links to an ebook on how to get your ex back. I’m guessing she expected every single link within my emails to lead to a freebie. I was hoping she would have understood that the e-course itself was free, but that some links within the emails lead to relevant products for sale.

At first I was a little bummed at this unsubscribe. But after watching your video, I realized that it was probably best to let this person go. She was probably a “freebie seeker” who loves getting on different email lists to see how many freebies she can get.

David

Yea but sometimes you could actually be doing something wrong. Unsubscribes are inevitable, but if it starts getting over 3 or 4% take a look at what you’re sending out. I had one person unsubscribe because WordPress is free and some themes are not. They thought it was a scam…idiots.

Fiona Scott

“Because it seems to me anybody that keeps banging on about there product as much as you do is just a sign of desperation I’m sorry to say.”

We had to laugh – as that’s what marketing is all about!

Ahmed

it was the other way around for me. i was a subscriber of an online marketer who switched to ecomm selling printing tools and ink, etc.

i unsubscribed after 3 weeks coz they send the same sales newsletter 3x a day 5 days a week. of course i had to include my reason and i wasn’t angry or anything. i just wrote there ‘this company sends 3x a day the same email for the whole 3 weeks i’ve been a subscriber”.

guess what???

the effing owner or whoever that was sent me an email saying “f#ck you! good riddance!”

i did not reply coz i don’t want to argue with a lunatic. but i was upset coz i have every bit of reason to unsubscribe and then that person replied like that. no wonder they’re sending redundant sales letters 3x a day, 5 days a week…. THEY’RE DESPERATELY IN NEED OF CUSTOMERS!

i have the last laugh.

Tamara

Hell yes! I don’t wanna pay for you to be on my email list if you don’t wanna be there!

Gabe Johansson

I’ve had someone give me a communications lesson (essay length and format) before unsubscribing. It was not only awkward, but ironically there were a few grammatical errors.

I definitely agree that I only want interested people on my list and I embrace the unsubscribes, as long as I know I’m doing the right thing.

Thanks for this!
-Gabe Johansson

P.S. Great intro in the outro lol

Melanie

Some guy unsubscribed because of all the “vagina” talk. I have never once mentioned a vagina so it had me perplexed! I am assuming that he was sick of hearing business advice specifically for women. #notmytargetmarket

Samuel

I always enjoy watching your videos! Great mindset!

Here’s my funny story of how I almost unsubscribed to your mailing list:

When I first subscribed to your mailing list to get your “First 5000 subscribers..” book I mistakenly downloaded an image on your site instead of the eBook itself. When I went to my files to open the pdf… all that was there was a PNG image of you saying, “How to get your first 5000 subscribers.” I was livid. I felt undermined. I thought the image was your eBook .. But then I realized I clicked, “saved image as” instead “save link as.” Opps.

The aftermath of that was reading your incredible short-read eBook that gave me the exact ideas I needed to launch my brand with class. Thanks!

Dan

Derek –

This is what I figured you say, so thanks for saying it 🙂 The most outrageous reason someone’s unsubscribed from my e-mail list? I’ve never had anyone give me one!

Nancy

I run a Facebook page that is mostly about sustainable living. I get some real hardcore types that think I should be making my own soap, for example. Lots of negative GMO stuff, which I never touch. The funniest objection I recently got was “microwave, you use a microwave??” Yeah, dude, and electricity too.

Anthony Tran

Derek you absolutely hit a home-run with this video! Not only was it entertaining, but so true! You’re right, it use to bother me when I got an unsubscribe. But when I started to realize that these weren’t my ideal audience it actually made me feel better. Since, I have been able to filter my true engaged customers I have seen my open-rate of my emails increase and now I can get true metrics from my ideal target market.

Tony

I had someone tell me that they didn’t like my ‘quote’ from Henry Ford because he was “the most anti Semetic piece of garbage in the history of the automotive industry”… So, I told him he had a good point. He had expressed a lot of other anger that had nothing to do with me. So, I changed the quote to:
“Most folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be.”
-Abraham Lincoln

Katie

Really good! 🙂 Thank you Derek

Rikki Leigh

Let me tell you why I am unsubscribing.
I know the guru mantra is get them back to your website, rack up hits. I subscribed so I don;t have to come to a website. Give me the newsletter in the newsletter, please. I also don’t want to watch a video. I can read it much faster. See, the whole reason I subscribe to anything is to save time.
You make me:
Open the email
follow a link
watch a video.
I could have read it and then written a short post linking to your site – assuming whatever was in the newsletter was worth sharing – in that time. Guru’s be damned. Making me come to your site for no purpose other than watching a 2 minute video isn’t saving me time. Guess what? If your newsletter is compelling, I will come to your site to see what else you have to say. If what you email me is good, I will come. You only have to play the linkylinky game if what you have to offer isn’t that great.
So, I open your emails, read up to the link and toss the emails. Today I’m taking the time to not only unsubscribe, but tell you and your audience why. You inspired me to finally make the effort instead of just deleting yet another uninformative email.

If you want to make use of that information, at the very least, always provide a transcript below the video. I’d rather have it in email, but when there is a transcript, I follow the link and read the post.

And now I’m off to unsubscribe.

Lisa O

I have two stand outs. One was when we upgraded to infusionsoft and started using graphical headers. The response – “now you are spammers” … What? just because we ‘looked’ more professional we were now spammers??? Pleeeease.
The second, “how can a person so young offer advice – get a life first.”
Ouch but kinda nice… I’m in my 40’s so it made my day 🙂 Bonus!

Swati

I actually removed many people from my list myself…because they never open my newsletter…so why bother keeping them? 😀

Swati

hahahahahaha!!! I LOVED this video. I got to know about you only today. And SO happy to have discovered you. I have recently started building my list and started sending my newsletter. At first I used to get sad to see unsubscribes. This time my reaction was kind of like yours, but I was really mad at them for their reasons: 1) Spam 2) I never subscribed to this list!! Really??? I have a double opt-in (like you), and if they are on my list, it’s because they said yes twice! And then they are weird enough to say they never subscribed? I never add anyone myself…they have to go through the double opt-in. But after watching your video I am sitting here laughing. You are right…if I knew this is what they are, I would block them from signing in! LOLOL!! Going to share your video with some friends.

    Corbin

    Well said @Swati! I get at least 10+ “I never subscribed to this list” notices, each and every mailing. Now, I can laugh looking directly at their original opt-in confirmation.

    Having been on 100’s of lists myself over the years, I can empathize a bit. There are some really ‘big-name’ marketers (not Derek) who do things like send f-bombs in subject lines, and/or resell my email over and over to their JV’s and other companies, and refuse to honor one-click unsubs. Sometimes, it can be easy to get lumped all together in the customer’s inbox.

Kristen @ MIX | wellness solutions for a balanced life

Could. NOT. Agree. MORE with this video, Derek! I thought I might be crazy, since I actually LIKE to get unsubscribes from my mailing list – it does just as you say it does – builds a stronger list of people IN my target audience that actually enjoy reading my banter and periodic sales pitches! 🙂 Keep up the great work – you’re changing lives!

Llyane @FrenchOnSkype

Yeah, same conclusion here… I decided to take care only of the people who become clients and stay clients. To become a client they have to first stay on the list. I give away so much free stuff, it’s ming boggling how are they not taking advantage of it. Probably the funniest reason was “I’m too busy for your newsletter (NB: which contains a 5-minute FREE French video-lesson every week), but I’ll register to your program when I have more time.” Are you kidding me?? 😀

Pimp My Product

I got quite a few of them when we did a webinar/newsletter titled “Pimp My Product”. Most of the unsubscribe emails accused me of being misogynistic and the cause of most (if not all) of the violence against women.
Even though the newsletter and webinar had clearly referenced the hit HBO Show “Pimp My Ride” which we were parodying i still wrote to every single one to explain this and tell them that it was actually my wife (a pastor) who suggested the idea and there was no intent of misogyny of any kind. Though these days I tend to stay away from such sensitive topics.

ABB

My favourite one : I run a newsletter with a sales funnel dedicated to my first book. A subscriber complained about me trying to sell my book now and then. And this person who had liked my free e-books and articles – but couldn’t stand that I wanted to sell my book – happens to run a bookstore ! 😀

    Swati

    LOL! Yes, I get those people too!

Dana Settle

“You send way too many emails”
I send one every other day… GLAD hey are gone!

Kyle Alm

I just unsubscribed from your newsletter, because I was signed up for it on two different email addresses.

The Get In Shape Girl

Oh I am soooo going to start leaving funny comments now when I unsubscribe from emails. I actually think I want to start subscribing to emails just so I can unsubscribe leaving them funny comments!

    Piers | Crowdfunding Dojo

    “Why are you unsubscribing?”

    THE DARK LORD COMMANDED ME TO. 🙂

      Lisa O

      Oh, I am so using that one!

      Swati

      “I wanted to see what happens when I click unsubscribe” 😛

      Luz Donahue

      “My dog ate my inbox.”

Eric Fredericks

Thanks, Derek. I needed this today. I try to tell myself that it’s good to weed out your list…but when I’m promoting an event I’m co-hosting to people that are just used to receiving crappy newsletters without personal color, it makes me a bit nervous. Especially when one of them unsubscribing is a featured speaker. D’oh!

Sunny

Favorite unsubscribe rant: I once sent out a newsletter with the headline “Happy Hump Day!” and offered a special mid-week offer for subscribers.

A customer responded saying, “Hump Day?!!?! Only for PROSTITUTES!!! Get me off your list immediately! This is offensive and you know it!”

Many laughs were had, not one ____ was given… 🙂

    Swati

    LOLOLOLOL!!!!

Lora

LOVE the take on being grateful for the ones who love and stay with you, Derek. I had an unsubcriber send me a photo of Mr. Happy and since then have been very happy to ignore unsubscribes and bless my readers every time I send something out 😉

nio

You look like a faggot with the makeup on.. take it off!

    Piers | Crowdfunding Dojo

    Unsubscribe.

      Mellissa Gunn

      awww…I laughed and split my wine…

        Mellissa Gunn

        and now I can’t spell either. sigh…

Lauri Wakefield

I have a very, very small email list. I don’t think I’ve had anyone unsubscribe yet. Eventually, it will happen. I don’t know if I really need to know why, though. Does it even matter? Maybe if I had a lot of people unsubscribe around the same time, I would need to see if there was a common reason why. But in general, if someone doesn’t want to receive my email messages, they’re helping me out by unsubscribing.

Nelson

This is great!
It is important for us to understand this.
At first I think it’s hard but after certain point
You just “get it” so you don’t mind at all at what they
Do.
One guy said: “too much text, make a video”.
And although I like videos and will do them more
Often.
I don’t try to please people that won’t take the time
To read and take action on what I share with them.
I think it’s for the good of both of us.
Unsubscribing is a choice and I respect that so I
Choose to serve the people that stay the best I can.

Nikki

I love when they say, “I never signed up for this and I don’t know who you are!” – I have a Double Opt In!!! Hahaha

    Piers | Crowdfunding Dojo

    I don’t remember 1/2 of the businesses I go through a double opt-in with…

Monique

Awesome vid! We always need this type of reminder.
I’ve been called a spammer and told that my content is “irrelevant”…nothing too bad. Good riddance to those people.

Kimber

LOL authentically you as always 🙂

Taylor Welch

Freaking awesome.

Dallas

My favorite video so far. Awesome don’t-take-yourself-too-seriously underlying theme.

Amanda

I have a paid daily email list and I recently included a video to help explain a particular point.

A recipient said that she unsubscribed because she couldn’t watch the video due to sensory integration issues.

John Lee Dumas

I had one last week that said:

“Fire is dangerous.. Why are you always promoting it?”

    Eric Fredericks

    Hahaha. Thanks for the laugh!

    P.S. – you might want to check your website because it’s on fire right now.

    Piers | Crowdfunding Dojo

    That’s awesome. You’ve got to love responses like that. Also… why are you advocating putting Entrepreneurs on Fire? Are you a rabid anti-business, hippy or something? Do you hate humanity? Do you wish our planet to go plunging into the sun and cause a supernova?

    🙂

Monique Williams

I get sad slightly when I see the unsubscribers, it’s almost like “damn, you don’t love my products?!” 🙂 it’s silly but true, I take it personal then I block them off my website. Going too far? Probably. But if you don’t want to receive my emails about sales and new product launches then you don’t really wanna order from me right? Not sure about that but I feel like an email once a week is light so it bothers you that much? Hmmmm…. Ok. I have had a client call saying ” hey I’m on your site and trying to log in but it’s giving me an error…” I checked all her details and saw the notes- she had unsub’d the month before. I told her that ” it says here you unsubscribed from our email list thus we deleted your account” she was silent. Then I asked her why she unsub’d because she had missed all kinds of fab promos and free stuff too. She said at the time she just wasn’t interested in the emails, etc. I said sorry to hear that and I took her order by phone but to this day she still can’t get on my website. If I can’t promote to you then…?????

    Sherry

    I don’t know if that’s something I would choose to do. They may simply be unsubscribing because they signed up twice by mistake or they want to re-subscribe with a different email address. Or maybe they don’t read the emails but visit the site regularly and were still going to be consistent clients.

    I just think that blocking them may be shooting yourself in the foot.

      Suzanne

      I completely agree with Piers & Sherry. I would never block them from my website.

      Because I, myself have unsubscribed from lists, just because the timing wasn’t right for their product and I was overwhelmed with emails in my inbox, but I went back later when the timing was right and purchased a product.

      Also, it just seems counterproductive to focus on people who are leaving, when you should be focusing more on the people who are staying with you.

      Just my two cents.

    Piers | Crowdfunding Dojo

    And if someone unsubscribed just because they’re changing email addresses and want to make sure they keep hearing from you… and you permanently block them from your website? And what kind of word of mouth are you likely to create by blocking people from your site? Maybe they no longer need what you’re offering but their friends do. What then?

    I can understand feeling a bit hurt when people unsubscribe, but blocking them from your site really is counterproductive. There are loads of legitimate reasons for people to unsubscribe that have nothing to do with hating you or your product.

Peter

love your video’s by the way
I wont stop following till I drop dead (or you)
promise you that 😉

Orion

I like unsubscribes because otherwise many of them will eventually end up as bounces as people change jobs, change lives, etc., and I try to keep my bounces very low. My funniest unsubscribe was when I included a cute little haiku about a singing frog sitting on a Buddha statue’s head, and this lady said my newsletters were “too religious.” 🙂

Peter

someone unsubscribed telling me that I shouldn’t give ‘how to’s’ that often (once every two weeks). “Its just too mucking fuch. I need more time to implement what you teach me than just two weeks”.

S

You so crazy – I think I’ll have your baby…

LOVE your videos! Thank you for the great tips, and for making them anything but boring!

Adam Dobay

My favourite unsubscribe of all time was a middle aged woman who registered to my wife’s mailing list but typed her name entirely in lower case letters on the opt-in form. A few days later she unsubscribed and sent an angry letter exclaiming: “You should know that people’s names are to be capitalized, young lady!!”

    Sherry

    Okay, that one is HILARIOUS!

Geniece Brown

That’s funny that people do that. I love getting your emails Derek!

Melissa Breau (@MelissaBreau)

Derek — this isn’t an answer to your question but it’s another question for you.

First, was curious if there’s a reason you don’t offer a transcription of the videos… even if it was a download. I know a few people who want your content, but don’t enjoy videos. At $1/min audio, I can’t imagine they’d cost you much to create and depending on how you created them, they might even be crawlable for SEO purposes. Thoughts?

Carma Spence

I find it ironic that this was the message I ended up using to unsubscribe. Not because I’m actually unsubscribing. Turns out that I’m subscribed with two email address and just don’t need two copies of your email. I won’t be unsubscribing completely any time soon. Derek, you’ da bomb! A perfect example of what “Owning Your Awesome” can look like. 🙂

Meridith

The reply emails I mostly get is “well why does it cost to start a business?” Or “if it’s so simple why do I have to pay monthly for someone to show me?” And the other one is “this is too good to be true.”

Melody

I include this in customer service emails: “Simply reply with “Remove” in the subject line. I might cry a little bit but I understand and will remove you.”

Once a customer replied with Remove in the subject but also included this in the body “Don’t cry, though, please. 🙂 ”

Another had this subject: “Re: Remove: But I have all your info, just don’t want too many emails”

I think my customers are sweet!

Bartosz Czekala

That piece of advice seems to come right on time.
I’m growing my e-mail list and it has happened once so far but was quite painful, I must say.
Thank you!

Catherine Pooler

“I find you very annoying and self-righteous”
LOL, unsubbing is EXACTLY what you should do then, is what I thought!

Laura Fuentes

I love it when people unsubscribe! Helps me clean up my list.

Leigh Shulman

Two reasons why people unsubscribed from my list?
1. Because I’m selfish. My traveling lifestyle doesn’t allow me to own pets.
2. Another reason… I’m un-American.

As for your being obnoxious… maybe a little… but I thought that was a good thing, but what do I know? I’m selfish and unAmerican.

🙂

Troy

Great post and yes – out with the old in with the new but the good comes back!

Ysmay

Wow! That’s hilarious! I’ve only ever had 1 person unsubscribe from my list, and I honestly don’t know why. I wish I had something funny to share.

Sarah Jordan

One guy unsubscribed than sent me an email telling me that my “language turned him off.” I had to laugh and just thought, “good riddance.” I knew you would be proud! 🙂

Deb

My best one was that I sent too many emails. Problem was I had notified all of my subscribers and told them I was doing a series and because it was a 30 Day Challenge, I didn’t want them to be inundated with a mass of posts to read each Monday, so I opted to mail one post daily. As it was only going to be a 4-week venue, I lost a handful of subscribers (many of whom never read my posts anyway) but one had to comment “I received too many emails.” I guess they missed my memo. 🙂

    Piers | Crowdfunding Dojo

    It might be worth actually creating a second list, and getting people interested in the 30 day challenge to sign up there, if you’re going to be mailing daily for 30 days in a row…

Rachael @ Love Yourself Green

Nice shirt this week, Derek! Another good video – I like the positivity of this one. Any new strategy to stop feeling sorry for yourself in business is great in my book! 🙂

Joao Rodrigues

Hi Derek,

I couldn’t agree more. In fact I’ve been saying the exact same thing in my trainings, blog and every other chance I get about this subject.

Keep them videos coming 🙂
Cheers,
Joao

Alegra

Thanks Derek! From time to time we have ppl who drop off the list and I wondered why. I basically came to the conclusion that we are reaching a select group and those who are not interested will get what they need from another resource and we wish them well. You can not take it personally, however if they leave comments we do read them and take their input to heart.

Marjolaine

Good to know just as I’m about to start an email list!

Ed Ryder

I love your stuff Derek, (except for that time you were pummeling me with request after request to sign up for that course that you were an affiliate for).

And you’ve got me trained to watch your videos to the very end so that I can see what funny antics will be there this time.

Suzanne

Thanks Derek for this video. I used to get upset when people would unsubscribe and would write nasty things to me, but then I started to realize like you said, that I didn’t want those negative people on my list anyway.

The best unsubscribe I got was when a woman in her 40’s told me my dating advice video, where we gave women our best tips on how to change their love lives and meet the right man.

She told me that video was a complete waste of her time (mind you, everyone else told me they loved that video and how it was so inspiring!). It took everything in me not to email her back and say, “Gee, I wonder why you’re single?!!!”

HelenA

Every few months I review my “subscriptions.” I unsubscribe from the ones I have stopped reading. Usually I leave the remark “Inbox cleanup.” And that’s really the reason – I’m not opening or reading it. So I reduce inbox clutter.

Why do I stop reading most of them: their target audience is not me after all; their topics are things I will not do for my clients; I’ve already read 10 reasons why fill-in-the-blank 10 times; their site is too cluttered; they cannot make their points succinctly.

Derek: I’m listening to yours; they are entertaining and your sense of humor is a lot like mine.

Joleene

Oh! Oh! I got one. After someone opted into my sales funnel to learn more about my one-day summer retreat in Syracuse NY, they accused me if being the “typical business guru” that doesn’t reveal website, social media platforms, etc, and therefore “hides.” Because of my intentional hiding, this person said they would never do business with me. I would like to say that not only is my FB ad sales funnel tied DIRECTLY to my biz FB page, but within the funnel are other social media icons and my logo with my web address — that lead directly to me. Also, if you register for the program, it takes you directly to my website. One final note…she subscribed to my list to watch a live stream event of mine in February. The extension of my e-mail: joleenespeaks.com. (my website!) Moral of the story ( which is just what you said) I wouldn’t want to even attempt to serve someone with this kind of attitude. Thanks for the reminder the email lists are not about a number. 🙂

Anas

Hi Derek,
People may unsubscribe to a blog if they are not in sync with the value that comes from there. So have no worries if anyone leaves. For me, Social Triggers is about the greatest blog I have ever subscribed to. Just imagine my professional life without the lessons I learnt from Jonah Berger, Chip & Dan Health and James Altucher just to mention a few. And I got to hear about these great guys from Social Triggers. What I have learnt from that Altucher video is worth more than a million dollars to me. I will never unsubscribe to Social Triggers. Ever!

Andrea Owen

Ummm…am I the only one who doesn’t even LOOK at unsubscribes? I don’t need the negative energy of people saying, “You’re an IDIOT!” or “You use too many swear words!” Ew. They aren’t my people, so I don’t even look. I have unsubscribe notifications turned off.
I know I should probably see them for any constructive criticism, but not today.

    Piers | Crowdfunding Dojo

    I like looking at them because I find them educational (and have a thick skin). I don’t get the reasons though, just when they do it.

    From that I found that 90% of my unsubs come from people who subscribed <20 seconds ago, ie. they were only joining to get the freebie and leave. I figure I might keep some of them if I put them on an autoresponder offering more free schwag, but I'd rather not pay higher list fees to have them around, anyway.

Monica Cruz-Weaver

A new subscriber got mad at me and immediately unsubscribed because she said when she got the confirm message from AWeber her son had set the volume on her computer to high and it scared her to death. She said she didn’t think it was funny I had the automated voice on the system. I laughed so hard. It wasn’t my fault her son set the volume too high. Honestly, I wish I would have been there to see her jump out of her skin. Too funny!!!

Nancy Marmolejo

I got a long, long, long apologetic email from someone who felt guilty for unsubscribing and had to tell me every tale of woe that has ever happened… and wrapping it all up with “if you want me to stay on your list, perhaps you could coach me for free and that would be an incentive”… ummmm really?

    Dana

    Hahahaha!!

    Luz Donahue

    OH WOW. The nerve of some people. Yikes.

Veronica

I had someone unsubscribe because she said she “wanted to do things her way” 🙂

Joe Girard

Awesome post, brother! I also used to feel annoyed and wondered what was wrong with poor little ol me. Boohoo. But like others that are commenting, once you get past that feeling and realize your job is to just add as much value as possible and not worry about EVERYONE staying on board. If something I write, say, or do makes an impact on just one person, I am doing a good job. It is all about connecting with one person at a time and building that tribe. Love your stuff, man. Keep rockin it!

Marian

Yes, I get the messages from unsubscribers, and most of them are really funny considering they’re getting lots of valuable information and stuff for free! 🙂 The one I remember was like.. “I’m getting the rid of crap emails…”

And I’m thankful too! Because they’re not “my” people anyway!

Jean Hoefling

I’m unsubscribing because I simply have too many mass emails coming in. I need to prioritize and write! It’s an issue of time.

Kristin Thompson

GREAT VIDEO and GREAT POINT.

Someone once wrote me a long email telling they were not only unsubscribing to my list, but they were also praying for my child…. because I swear.

WTF! (kidding!) 😉

    Piers | Crowdfunding Dojo

    Becoming a highly visible industry leader is evil, remember? Didn’t you get the memo? 😉

    Joleene

    I love it. 🙂

Richard Taylor

here’s the entire text of an unsubscribe: “because”

here’s another: “The barn containing all our possessions on the lot where we were going to build our house (the plans you designed), was burned to the ground by arsonists (the night three barns in Del Co were set ablaze, if you heard that on the news). We are now living full time in an RV and are selling everything in Ohio. Consequently, we have no need for house ideas, although we did enjoy your newletter while we were reading it. Thanks!”

    Piers | Crowdfunding Dojo

    Time to start a new list for people about improving their RV’s…

Cheri

This is SOOOO true Derek. When I first started I used to get so upset when people would unsubscribe. But then I just realized that they were helping my cull my list for me – less work for me! I want people on my list that are going to buy in the future or interact with me personally in a positive or helpful way, not ones that are going to just leave obnoxious comments.

…and I don’t get reasons for unsubscribes because I think I don’t even have that set up…what I don’t know can’t hurt me!! HAHAHA.

oscar

Now I really feel more quiet about the unsuscribes 😉

Marta

I have a freebie on my site called, “How to Manage Your Crazy Boss.” An unsubscriber told me, “I don’t like the title. I’m afraid my boss will see this over my shoulder on my computer screen and it will send the wrong message.” Hmmmmm. Maybe don’t use your work email to subscribe, or even look at the material at work? Just a thought.

    Nathan Ambrose

    “Wrong message”? What’s the point of her subscribing?

    Lauren

    ROFL! that one was too funny. At least you don’t have to worry about them anymore for lack of common sense. LOL

Jeremy

That was hilarious! I remember unsubscribing from your YouTube channel actually. But it was because I get your emails sending me to your videos right here at your website.

For this very reason, have you ever thought of making some videos exclusive to YouTube, perhaps to win even more subscribers there? Or is it pointless? Just wondering.

David Cain

Hey Derek. I really appreciate when people unsubscribe. All it means is that I’ve lost one of the least interested people on my list. Much worse than an unsubscribe is somebody who keeps getting your stuff, but doesn’t really give a shit about it and doesn’t bother unsubscribing. Unsubscribers at least offer you the courtesy of officially parting ways when there’s no longer a connection.

Dennis

I run into the same as you Derek. It’s the usual “WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE!?!?” to “you’re an idiot. Unsubscribed”. I remember the first time I got such negative responses I actually emailed Ramit (and HE REPLIED). I don’t bother with unsubscribes anymore, especially when I have tons more saying that it’s great 🙂

Renee

I wrote an email awhile ago joking how Mercury in Retrograde was affecting all the technology I was using recently and that I’d be happy when it was over. I had someone unsubscribe and send me a long note about how there’s no place for astrology in business! The comment was made in jest but it made me laugh for all the reasons you said.

Dawn Martinello

Most of the time people don’t bother with a reason, but one that stuck out at me was someone who noticed that I had unsubscribed from her list so she thought it was only fair that she unsubscribe from mine.

o.0

Alison

I love this – I had an unsubscribe message, all in caps saying: ‘CLEAN UP YOUR LANGUAGE!!!!!’, and honestly I was confused, reading the email again I found I had said ‘hell’ – oooooooh! So glad that one unsubscribed, hahaha!

Emilia

Absolutely agree Derek. I love unsubscribes. Instead of waking up to see how many new subscribers i have, i wake up to see who has unsubscribed..i actually get a warm feeling when they leave because i know they are helping me build a community of people that actually want to hear from me! The funiest reason i got from an unsubscribe was ” not enough pictures in your newsletter” I’m a fan of plain text and with an open rate of 40%+….i think majority of people on my list don’t give a cr*p about poncy pictures!

Mark Struczewski

This may not be the funniest (or even funny) but… I email once per week. I once had someone say “too many emails!” Really? I used to take offense when people unsubscribe, but Derek you have helped me realize that this is a good thing. Thank you.

Adam-Sexy Confidence

I get a ton of unsubscribes when people get mad for me NOT sending them videos I promise in my free video training. Obviously, these videos are being sent, they just end up in spam. It’s unfortunate, and I try tactics to educate people on the SPAM folder…but hey, what can yah do.

Great video Derek.

Edward Vilga

I had a friend (let’s call her “SB”) who was always wrong in any advice she gave, be it romantic or professional. The book she told me was “nothing special” and that she didn’t think anyone would buy it, ended up getting me to #1 in my category on Amazon and on REGIS & KELLY. She was the perfect reverse oracle. When we drifted apart, I had a moment of annoyance/regret when she dropped off my mailing list…but then I realized it was probably the biggest indication of my bright future I could have received!

    SB

    Why call her SB? You don’t even mention her name at all in your comment. I feel like this information is redundant…

Michael Martinez

I run two subscription lists, one free and one paid. The reasons people give me for unsubscribing from the free list are similar to those you cite in the video. The most common reason (by far the majority given thus far in 2 years) for leaving the paid list is that I am providing too much information. They cannot keep up with it. I’m not sure that’s “funny”, but it’s more satisfying to me than “this is spam”. I don’t want to charge people for what they think of as spam.

    David Hunt

    Yes my paid subscribers also cite that as they get too much for me . They love it but some just can’t use it or concentrate on it – so I cut it down for some

      Stacy Harp

      I see you have a paid subscriber list too. What is it that your subscribers are paying for? What topic?

    Stacy Harp

    Hi Michael,

    I’m very interested in knowing how you run a paid email subscription. Can you briefly tell me how you do that. Thanks.

      Michael Martinez

      Stacy, I have my own dedicated server, which handles its own mailing lists. I use PayPal to handle the subscriptions and I control who can subscribe/post to the mailing list. I started with a third-party service a couple of years ago but they shut down. I decided not to switch to another third-party service because I didn’t want to pay more fees on top of fees.

        Stacy Harp

        Thank you for answering my question. I was actually wondering more about how much you charge, and how you determine that cost? Sorry for not being more specific. I use Mailchimp and I have no problem setting up the actual list, but my main concern is someone sharing the paid subscription emails with those who will not pay. What is your email about? Thanks again.

          Michael Martinez

          You know I’m not sure it’s good etiquette for me to go into detail about my business here. You’re welcome to send me an email at michael-dot-martinez-at-xenite-dot-org and I’ll be glad to share more information privately.

          I don’t have any way to prevent people from sharing the emails. I give each subscriber permission to share them within their office. I have only run into 2-3 instances of people republishing this content on the Web. Based on click-throughs I don’t see any indication that people are passing the newsletters around much.

      Sam Marelich

      I’m not Michael but… if you use a email system (for example, mailchimp) you can segment your lists so that you send email campaigns to certain demographics. Very easy to do.

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